Statue of Unity: Gujarat government lines up multiple events to boost tourism

The Statue of Unity, which is dedicated to Sardar Patel, is attracting 30,000 visitors per day and has become a major tourism hotspot, not just of Gujarat but of the country as well.

A total of 4,04,082 people have visited the Statue of Unity till December 23 which has resulted in the generation of an income of Rs 10.11 crore via ticket sales.

Riding on the rising popularity of the world’s tallest statue among tourists, and people’s eagerness to know more about it, the Gujarat government is planning a series of national and state-level events at Kevadia Colony near the Statue of Unity.

Next month, in January 2019, a three-day international Kite festival, which used to be held at Satpura hills till last year, will be organised by the Gujarat govt near the Statue of Unity. State’s Chief Minister Vijay Rupani will inaugurate the event on January 8. Kite flyers from across the globe are expected to take part in the event.

A month after the Kite festival, Statue of Unity complex will host state election commissioners in February for a conference on readiness for the upcoming General Elections in April-May 2019. The dates of this conference are not finalised yet, though Indian Express has reported that the three-day meet will take place during the second week of February. The Collector of Narmada district has been notified for the same.

According to the Indian Express report, Gujarat govt is also looking at the possibility of starting a seaplane service from Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad to the Narmada river near statue complex.

Indian Express quoted an officials as saying that on average 8,000 people visit the world’s tallest statue daily. On November 10, a whopping 28,409 tourists visited the site, the highest one day record for the Statue. A total of 4,04,082 people have visited the Statue till December 23 which has resulted in the generation of an income of Rs 10.11 crore via ticket sales. The Statue of Unity was inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi on October 31, earlier this year on the birth anniversary of India’s iron man Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.